This invention relates in general to ammunition and deals more particularly with a round of ammunition of the type which includes a ring airfoil projectile carried by a sabot and a launcher for such a round.
The recent devastating terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, New York, N.Y., has given rise to proposals that pilots and air crews of commercial airliners be armed. However the potential risk of catastrophe resulting from the discharge of a conventional firearm in a commercial aircraft at high altitude causing cabin window breakage or fuselage rupture and producing sudden cabin depressurization gives cause for concern.
Ring airfoil projectiles are well known in the ballistic art. Such a projectile generally comprises a closed circular ring defining a central opening having an airfoil section and which acts as an aerodynamic lifting body utilizing spin imparted to it by a launching device to attain gyroscopic stability. The combination of lift, which at least partially counteracts the gravitational force acting upon the projectile, and aerodynamic stability results in a projectile having a flat trajectory and extended range capability. Heretofore, such projectiles have been employed in riot control to distribute a non-lethal payload, as, for example, a lacrimator such as tear gas, which is usually quite effective in dispelling a mob. The subsonic launch velocity attained by a light-weight projectile of the aforedescribed kind avoids personal injury or bodily harm due to impact, even at point-blank range. Examples of such projectiles are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,023 to Misevich and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,982,489 and 4,190,476 to Flatau et al.
At the opposite end of the spectrum the same type of ring airfoil projectile has been provided for use as a warhead to carry high explosive materials and other munitions for military use. An example of such a projectile is found in the Flatau, U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,383.
If the weight, size and resilience of such a projectile is carefully selected and a propellant charge is employed which will yield a desired muzzle velocity, it should be possible to produce a combination capable of inflicting an immediately debilitating if not lethal injury to a targeted individual attempting to commandeer an airliner and without serious risk of breaking a cabin window or otherwise rupturing the airliner fuselage. However, such ring airfoil projectiles as heretofore available are designed to be launched from a grenade launcher or the like adapted for attachment to the muzzle end of an existing firearm. Such weapons tend to be relatively large and cumbersome not well suited for concealment as would be necessary to deal with a skyjacker intent on highjacking a commercial aircraft. Accordingly, it is the general aim of the present invention to provide an improved self-contained round of ammunition having a ring airfoil projectile. It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a self-contained round having a ring airfoil projectile and which may be discharged from a simple compact holder or launcher which may be carried in a concealed location on an aircraft. Yet another aim of the invention is to provide a self contained round of ammunition having a projectile capable of producing a blunt trauma and inflicting an immediately debilitating injury to a targeted individual at close range within a commercial aircraft and without serious risk of breaking a cabin window of the aircraft or otherwise rupturing the fuselage. Still another aim of the invention is to provide a simple, compact launcher for such a round of ammunition.
In accordance with the present invention a self-contained round of ammunition having a ring airfoil projectile comprises a cartridge casing having a tubular body defined by a rifled bore and a base attached to a breech end of the cartridge body and providing a closure for the breech end. The ring airfoil projectile is carried by a sabot having an abutment surface thereon disposed within the bore and supported for limited movement from a loaded to a fired position within the bore. When the cartridge is fired the sabot is arrested at its fired position by an arresting surface defined by a radially, inward projection or annular cylindrical lip integrally formed on the tubular cartridge casing body which engages the abutment surface to prevent separation of the sabot from the cartridge casing.